Heroes Without Capes

Understanding

Tsukushi had been weird all day. More precisely, he'd been looking kind of down. Out of it. The way he always looked when something was weighing down on his mind, some kind of worry or fear he couldn't get out of his head. Kazama knew him well enough to recognize the signs.

Afternoon practice was over, and everyone else had gone home already, everyone except for the third-years, who were still out on the field and practicing free kicks. Kazama and Tsukushi should probably head home too. But he couldn't just leave when he knew his boyfriend was worried about something; he had to know what it was, if he could do anything to help.

"Hey, Tsukushi," he said quietly, sitting down next to him.

Tsukushi didn't react. He kept staring at a random point in the distance, blue eyes clouded over with kindhearted concern, nervously twiddling his fingers.

"Tsukushi," Kazama called again, a little louder this time. "Hey, Tsukushi, what's wrong?"

Still no reaction. Tsukushi was too deep in his own thoughts, unable to notice anything happening in the world around him. He probably hadn't even noticed everyone else leaving, had he?

"Hey, Earth to Tsukushi!" Kazama waved a hand in front of his boyfriend's eyes. "Tsuku-chan? Sunshine?"

Tsukushi jolted and blinked, snapping out of his trance. "K-K-Kazama-kun?" he stuttered, fidgeting as he tried to take in all his surroundings at the same time. "Sorry, I was just thinking... wait." He blushed the sweetest shade of pink, blue eyes widening as he recalled the names Kazama had called him by. "W-What did you call me?"

Kazama grinned. "Sunshine?"

Finally a smile. Tsukushi giggled, still blushing, his whole face lighting up for the first time today. Kazama's heart skipped a beat. Wow, I've missed this and it's only been a day. "I told you not to call me by that silly nickname!"

"Why not? It suits you!" Ruffling Tsukushi's hair, Kazama leaned closer to his boyfriend, pulling him into his arms. "Especially when you're smiling. So today's been kind of cloudy, you know?" His smile faded, and he became serious, meeting Tsukushi's wide-eyed gaze. "You all right, man? You've been looking pretty down."

"Ah, did I make you worry?" Tsukushi flailed his hands around in the air, blushing with embarrassment. "Sorry! It's just, you know... I'm a little worried." His gaze dropped, and he rested his head against Kazama's chest, his voice quiet as he continued, "Do you think Kimishita-senpai and Ooshiba-senpai are okay? They haven't talked to each other all day... Do you think they had a fight?"

Kazama frowned, thinking back on the third-years' interactions today. It was true that Kimishita-kun and Kiichiman hadn't exchanged a single word all day, not even a glance. Last year that wouldn't have called any attention... but these days it was unusual. Ever since they were named captain and vice-captain of Seiseki they'd become so aggressively inseparable that them not talking at all was a surefire sign that something was wrong.

Running his fingers through Tsukushi's fluffy hair, he cracked a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Truth be told, he was worried too. "So you noticed, huh?" he said softly, half to himself. "Yeah, they've been acting weird. But this is Kiichiman and Kimishita-kun we're talking about. Knowing them, they probably fought over something really stupid and are too proud to apologize." He laughed. "Give 'em a day or two and they're cool again. It's happened before, right?"

Tsukushi didn't sound any more convinced than Kazama felt. "But they haven't had any big fights in weeks," he insisted. "Do you think they'll be fine? What do we do if they don't make up...?" He raised his head from Kazama's chest, eyes round and wide with panic. "We should do something!"